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Jakarta Post

Coworking space: A melting pot for digital nomads

Temporary nest: People work at the Jakarta Smart City Hive (JSCHive) in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, on Tuesday

Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, July 6, 2017

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Coworking space: A melting pot for digital nomads

T

span class="inline inline-center">Temporary nest: People work at the Jakarta Smart City Hive (JSCHive) in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, on Tuesday. The space was built by the city administration and EV Hive coworking space to support digital startup companies.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

Whatever the problem, everything is pretty much resolved after lunchtime.

This is the norm for people working at digital startups that have settled down at blossoming coworking spaces in the city.

To expand their networks in a coworking space, sometimes all startup workers needed to do was go to the pantry for some small talk with employees of another startup.

Johan Oen, a product consultant at digital printing startup Prinzio that used to occupy a space at the AXA Tower in South Jakarta, said the interaction would begin at around 3 p.m. when many eyes began to tire and people would go to the pantry for a shot of caffeine.

“You become familiar with each other and then ask them to have lunch together,” Johan told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.

Conversations at lunch time provide a good opportunity for startup teams to talk to others about difficulties faced and get support or advice.

Such conversations had helped Prinzio solve its daily problems regarding products or designs ordered by clients, Johan said.

Other startup professionals would come up with unique ideas to help them.

“Our relationship with other [digital startup employees] can also grow through events held at the coworking space,” Johan added.

Now the company rents an office in Tebet, South Jakarta, since it has outgrown the coworking space with a team numbering more than 20 employees today.

Digital lending platform pinjam.co.id started in 2015 with four employees in a private house.

The company rents a room at coworking space Block71 in South Jakarta for its engineering division since March for the more stable internet connection, explained pinjam.co.id cofounder Sofian Hadiwijaya on the sidelines of the inauguration of the coworking space Jakarta Smart City Hive (JSCHive) building
last month.

According to his experience, coworking spaces are good places for early startups to build networks and share experiences.

“It all starts with random chats with other startup employees during lunch, for example, and it can end with you using their services or vice versa. Also, if you need advice, you can just knock on the door of your startup ‘neighbor’ and ask them,” Sofian said.

Diversity in coworking spaces was also considered pivotal to foster networking between different types of businesses, he added.

As of 2016, there are around 2,000 local startups in Indonesia, more than in any other Southeast Asian country. The Center for Human Genetic Research (CHGR) has predicted that the number will increase to 13,000 by 2020.

Furthermore, according to global accounting firm Ernst & Young, the online sales volume in the country increased by 40 percent every year, supported by approximately 93.4 million internet users and 71 million
smartphone users.

At present, there are more than 20 coworking spaces in the capital, mostly of which are located in South Jakarta.

JSCHive is located in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, and is the first coworking space to collaborate with the Jakarta administration.

JSCHive provides startups not only with a coworking space but also with a meeting room and event space for those who want to conduct an event in the building.

Built on land owned by the South Jakarta administration, Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said JSCHive offered an integrated service, as it also provided a notary service for startups to handle company business permits.

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